Novel container



Feb 1963 M. GASTE 3,077,262

NOVEL CONTAINER Filed March 22, 1961 INVENTOR MICHAEL GASTE W ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent Office 3,977,262 NQVEL MENTAINE:

Michael Gaste, llicheyviile, Pih, assignor to Poly-fill, Inc,Richeyviiie, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Mar. 22, 1961, Ser.No. 97,567 4 Claims. (Cl. Edd-47} This invention relates to a novelcontainer for a twocomponent, curable composition and more particularlyto a novel container for holding a curable composition and a curingcatalyst, in separate, non-communicating parts of said container and tocontainers filled with such curable compositions and curing catalysts.

Heretofore, many attempts have been made to package two-componentsystems of curable compositions wherein both components must beseparated until just prior to mixing and use. There are many two packagecombinations presently known in the art where the two components areseparately packaged and, just prior to use, are mixed together in athird container. Such combinations are unwieldly and difficult to handlebecause of the necessity of accurately measuring each component prior tomixing, of providing a third container for mixing and of, providing amixing tool or stirrer. Also, after sufficiently mixing the components,it is sometimes difficult to transfer the mixture onto the site ofapplication.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel containerwhich will enclose two materials separated in different compartments andwhich will permit intermixing of said materials without the need for athird mixing receptacle or a mixing tool.

it is a further object to provide such a container wherein after themixing of said materials the resulting mixture can be easily applieddirectly onto the site of application.

A further object is the provision of a package having two or morecompartments each containing a material separated from a material in anyother compartment and means for permitting the intermixing of, saidmaterials within said package at a predetermined subsequent time.

The novel container of the present invention comprises at least twonormally communicating compartments which are separated by doublingfolds of said container which folds are retained by a releasableretaining means. More specifically, the novel container comprises a bagof substantially liquid-impervious material and having a bottom at oneend and a mouth at the other end. The bag is folded double or more at anintermediate point between the bottom and mouth thereof to form a closedcompartment between the bottom and the doubling fold or folds and acloseable compartment between the doubling fold or folds and the mouth,which, of course, can be closed to form a second closed compartment. Thedoubling fold or folds are secured by a releasable retaining means,which preferably is separable from the bag, to maintain the twocompartments non-communicative. At the time of use the retarding meansis released and the doubling folds are unfolded, whereby the previouslyseparated compartments become communicative. The material in eachcompartment can then be squeezed into the material of anothercompartment and mixed by kneading the entire ba The bag is preferablyconstructed of a heat-sealable, liquid impervious material, e.g.,polyvinylchloride iilrn, polyester film and the like, and, of coursemust be inert with regard to the contained materials so as not to reactwith or catalyze a chemical reaction involving said materials.

The retaining means employed for retaining the compartment-separating,doubling folds can be of any suitable type which is releasable and alsoseparable from the bag after release. One particularly superiorretaining means is a length of deformable member which when bent willremain in its bent disposition. Such member can be entirely of the samedeformable material, e.g., a wire, strip or band of, malleable metal, orthe deformable material can be laminated with pa; er or plastic or othersheet material. A particularly advantageous deformable member comprisesone length, or more than one length in parallel, of a malleable metalwire laminated with paper, cardboard or plastic sheets to provide a bandhaving width and, thereby, ease of handling.

The novel containers of this invention are well-suited for packagingresin catalyst systems, such as, unsaturated polyester resin-peroxidecatalyst systems; epoxy resinamine catalyst systems; or systems ofpolyester resin and/or epoxy resins with other types of catalysts therefor, wherein the resin must be maintained separate from the catalystuntil the time of use. The catalysts are available and useable herein invarious forms, e.g. liquid, paste or solid. The paste form is preferredfrom the standpoint of ease of handling in loading and ease of mixingjust prior to use.

in packaging such resin-catalyst systems in accordance with thisinvention, the resin preferably is first loaded into the bag in ameasured amount. The doubling fold is then applied to the bag above theresin, e.g., by folding the portions of the bag above the resin on alength of deformable member. Generally, one fold is sutlicient, althoughmore than one is preferred for insurance. An especially effectivearrangement is to employ two lengths of deformable member parallel toand overlying each other with the bag in between. The length ofdeformable mem. her is larger than the width of. the bag and thoseportions of said length extending beyond the bag are doubled back overthe bag after the fold has been made, thereby retaining said fold.

The fold or folds produced and retained as described above completelyencloses the resin in the bag and forms the bottom of a secondcompartment for the catalyst which is then introduced in a measuredamount. The mouth of the bag is then closed as by heat-sealing and thepackage is complete. A weakened tear line can be provided just below theheat-seal at the mouth so as to permit easy opening of the bag aftermixing the contents. Such weakened tear lines and means for providingthem are well-known and include minute perforations which permit easytearing but prevent escape of contained material. 05 course, if desired,the catalyst can be added first and the resin last.

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to theappended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a bag, as a component of the novelcontainer, being filled partially, e.g., with a resin;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the application of adeformable member to the bag shown in FIG. I;

3 is a perspective view illustrating the doubling folds on thedeformable member shown in PEG. 2, the retaining action of said memberbeing shown, and the upper compartment formed by the doubling fold beingfilled, e.g., with a catalyst;

PEG. 4 is a perspective view 'llustrating the filled and sealedcontainer of this invention;

Phil. 5 is a perspective view showing the novel filled and sealedcontainer with the deformable member removed just prior to mixing, .55.,by kneading;

MG. 6 is a perspective view showing the novel filled container shown inFIG. 5 being kneaded to mix the contents;

PEG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the novel container after thecont nts have been mixed and as it is being opened prior to applicationto the desired site;

MG. 3 is a cross-section on line 88 of FIG. 4 showing the folded bag andretaining means in detail; and

PEG. 9 is a similar cross-section of another type of folded bag showingthe fold and retaining means in detail.

Referring to P16. 1, there is shown a bag 1 formed of a heat-scalable,liquid-impervious sheet material, folded and sealed along two margins 2and 3 leaving an open mouth 4. Material 5, such as, a polyester resin,is being poured in a measured amount from a filling device 6 topartially fill the bag 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, a deformable member 7 comprising two deformablestrips 8 and 9 stapled together with staples It) being disposed on bag 1such that strip 3 is on one side and strip 9 is on the other side ofsaid bag. As shown, each strip S or 9 comprises two laminated bands witha wire 11 of deformable, malleable metal enclosed between said bands.The length of strips 8 and 9 is greater than the width of bag 1. andextend beyond said bag to provide ears i2 and 13.

instead of preforming the deformable member 7 prior to disposing it onbag 1; as shown in FIG. 2 the strips 8 and 9 can be parallelly disposedon both sides of the bag 1 and then stapled together. Also, thedeformable member 7, if desired, could comprise just one strip 8 or 9folded on the bag 1 as will be described hereinafter.

In FIG. 3, the bag 1 has been folded around the deformable member 7 andthe ears i2 and 13 have been folded back over the folds of said bag.This can be done by holding the deformable member 7 substantiallystationary and rotating the bag 1 around said member as the axis ofrotation or by holding said bag stationary and rotating said memberabout its longitudinal axis or by any combination of such steps ofholding and rotating. The type of fold obtained by the relative rotationof the bag 1 and member 7 as above-described is best shown in FIG. 8.Thus, the lower portion of the bag 1 containing the resin is closed anda separate compartment 14 is formed in the upper portion of said bag.

Another way of providing the upper and lower compartments in bag 1 is todispose the deformable member 7 on intermediate portions of said bagwith strips 8 and 9 respectively on each side of said bag and thendouble a relatively narrow portion of the bag just above or just belowsaid strips to form a doubling fold 19 followed by folding the doublingfold over said strips as best shown in FIG. 9. The ears 12 and 13 ofmember 7 are then folded over the doubling fold to hold it in place. Ifdesired, the member 7 can comprise strip 9 only without strip 3;however, the resulting container is somewhat less stable and unfoldingis more apt to occur. In the type of fold shown in FIG. 9, the twocompartments are easily rendered communicative by strongly pulling theends of the bag 1 to release and straighten the doubling fold 19.

As shown in FIG. 3 the compartment 14 is being loaded with a secondmaterial 15, e.g., curing catalyst, from a second filling device 16.

The open mouth 4- is then closed and heat-scaled to form a closure 17 asshown in FIG. 4. if desired, and it is usually preferred, a weakenedtear line can be provided across the bag 1 just below the closure 17.The completed, filled, novel container as shown in FIG. 4 can be storedfor months and even years, and can be subjected to severe handling andextreme abuse short of rupturing the plastic sheet from which the bag ismade, without danger of the materials 5 and 15 intermingling.

When the time has come to mix the materials 5 and 15, the cars 12 and 13of deformable member 7 are unfolded and bag 1 is unfolded from aroundsaid member which is then slipped ofi of said bag or otherwise removed.FIG. 5 illustrates the filled bag 1 just prior to kneading to mix thecontained materials 5 and 15 and FIG. 6 shows the filled bag 1 beingkneaded. FIG. 7 shows the filled bag 1 containing the mixed materials 18and the top being torn off to permit removal of the mixed materials .18on to the site of application.

What is claimed is:

1. A novel container for two or more separated materials, comprising, aclosed bag, having a flattened intermediate portion and flattened partsadjacent to said intermediate portion, in combination with a length of arelatively rigid, deformable member disposed across said fiattenedintermediate portion, said adjacent, flattened parts of said bag beingdoubled over said length to form at least one doubling fold dividingsaid bag into a compartment on each side of said doubling fold, the endportions of said length normally extending beyond said bag and beingdoubled back over and retaining said doubling field.

2. A novel container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said length of arelatively rigid, deformable member is a single, relatively rigid,deformable strip.

3. A novel container as claimed in claim 1 wherein said length comprisestwo overlying, relatively rigid, deformable strips each disposed acrossopposite faces of said intermediate portion.

4. A novel container as claimed in claim 3 wherein the respectiveoverlying end portions of said strips are secured together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,566,122 Denison Aug. 28, 1951 2,756,874 Erickson et al luly 31, 1956FOREIGN PATENTS 1,054,170 France Oct. 7, 1953 762,697 Great Britain Nov.28, 1956

1. A NOVEL CONTAINER FOR TWO OR MORE SEPARATED MATERIALS, COMPRISING, ACLOSED BAG, HAVING A FLATTENED INTERMEDIATE PORTION AND FLATTENED PARTSADJACENT TO SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION, IN COMBINATION WITH A LENGTH OF ARELATIVELY RIGID, DEFORMABLE MEMBER DISPOSED ACROSS SAID FLATTENEDINTERMEDIATE PORTION, SAID ADJACENT, FLATTENED PARTS OF SAID BAG BEINGDOUBLED OVER SAID LENGTH TO FORM AT LEAST ONE DOUBLING FOLD DIVIDINGSAID BAG INTO A COMPARTMENT ON EACH SIDE OF SAID DOUBLING FOLD, THE ENDPORTIONS OF SAID LENGTH NORMALLY EXTENDING BEYOND SAID BAG AND BEINGDOUBLED BACK OVER AND RETAINING SAID DOUBLING FOLD.